When You Don’t Know How to Write

Years ago, as a freelance writer, I wrote a lot of articles about art. One of them was about the Makk family of artists, who lived in Hawaii. The big thing I remember from this article happened while I interviewed the Eva, the matriarch of the family. She told me how when she was a young artist she had images in her head that she wanted to paint–but it took her a long time to figure out how to get those images onto canvas.

I could relate. As a fledgling fiction writer, I often had trouble translating the stories in my head onto the page. And even now, after writing fiction a gazillion years, sometimes I just can't quite get what I'm writing to work right. I have the idea in my head. I can see it. But when I put it on the page, it is dead and lifeless. Something about it doesn't work, and I moan and groan and wring my hands and decide I'm going to sell yarn for a living. Or get a job in a restaurant. Or something, anything, other than writing. At times like these, I need to remind myself how to write all over again.

But the great thing about writing for so many years is that I've figured out a few things about how to get myself out of these situations. And so I offer them to you.

1. Write a scene. Often, deadly boring prose is written in narrative summary, which is, as the name implies, words written in summary. She spent the afternoon reading on the couch, is an example. Or, six months later, the baby was born. You glide over a short or long amount of time or compactly explain some information. Narrative summary most definitely has its place–it is a useful technique for all manner of things–but when it is used too often it results in big yawns. Writing a scene, which incorporates dialogue, description, action, and interiority, will be much livelier and it may be just what the writing doctor ordered.

2. Try a line of dialogue. Have one of your characters say something. This can often lead you into a full-blown scene, or a half-scene, which is a bit of narrative summary with a line of dialogue as its anchor. This link has great definitions of half-scene, scene, and narrative summary.

3. Copy exactly. Take out your favorite novel or memoir, prop it next to your computer, and copy a scene word for word. You know, of course, that I offer this as an exercise only and you aren't going to use this plagiarizing for anything but your own learning purposes. This is kind of an amazing way to get the cadence of writing into your brain and heart and is a great learning tool. Try it. You'll be amazed at how much you glean from it.

4. Copy and rewrite. A variation of the above. First complete #3, then take the scene or paragraph and rewrite it in your own words, maintaining the same idea and actions as the original. Another surprisingly fabulous learning tool.

5. Read. Take a break from your struggles and go read a book. Nine times out of ten, this sends me running back to the computer. Its as if I just need to refill myself with words. Note: reading blog posts, gossip sites, news articles, or anything on the internet DOES NOT COUNT.

6. Take a class. If you are a true rank beginner, a class is going to be your best starting point. If you are an introvert or don't have time for an in-person class, there's a ton of great offerings online, and many of them are self-paced.

7. Hire a coach. Like me. This would sound incredibly self-serving but for the fact that I'm not taking on new clients for the time being–unless you call and beg me on bending knee, in which case I'll consider it. But whether it is me or someone else you work with, a coach can point out your strengths and weaknesses and help you learn to implement more of the latter.

So there you have it. Oh, by the way, you might also be interested in my post on What to Do When You Don't Know What to Write, which inspired this one.

Related

This is great advice–I think. lol. I haven’t tried all of it yet. As for your early experience, you could pencil my name in there. I had no control over my brain then. It behaved like an orchestra with all the instruments playing a different song. I like this copy exactly. Reading something from a favorite writer can put me in a mood to work. I’ve thought of mixing the writers I read as well. For instance, no one does a jail scene as well as Michael Connelley. At the same time, in the modern age (barely) Robert Parker’s Spenser… Read more »

I think its a common experience for beginning writers to have stories in their brain and not know how to get them onto the page. I remember my brother-in-law telling me how hard it was (he's more of a journalist type). And yeah, the copying exercise is a great one that takes time but is worth it. Thanks, as always, for commenting!